Industry earnings are incomes received by people who are directly involved with producing goods and services. Earnings, referred to also as "labor and proprietors income", include (1) wage and salary disbursements, (2) other labor income such as employer contributions to private retirement and medical insurance programs, and (3) the net incomes of proprietors (i.e., the owners of unincorporated enterprises).

In contrast to the more frequently cited employment data, earnings data more accurately reflect qualitative differences in labor's contributions toward the production of goods and services, namely the productivity differences reflected in variations in earnings per job. Earnings data, therefore, are better for comparing and tracking long-term trends and identifying short-run shifts in the level and composition of economic activity within and among counties.

Just like the employment data compiled by BEA, earnings data are reported on a place-of-work, or more accurately on a place-where-earned, basis.

Note: the BEA earnings data presented and discussed here in the context of comparing and assessing the economic growth and performance of county and regional economies are entirely separate and apart from--and should not be confused with--corporate earnings, which are compiled from the balance sheets of individual private corporations.

Figure 1 depicts Kauai County's annual total industry earnings over 1970-2021 in current and constant (2012) dollars. Constant dollar measurements remove the effects of inflation. They allow for comparison of changes in the real purchasing power of Kauai County over time.

When measured in current dollars, Kauai County's total industry earnings increased 2,395.83%, from $98M in 1970 to $2,450M in 2021. When measured in constant 2012 dollars to adjust for inflation, it advanced 351.37%, from $469M in 1970 to $2,119M in 2021.

Figure 2 tracks Kauai County's and Hawaii's annual real total industry earnings for the period 1969-2021 to illustrate real total industry earnings patterns over time. During this 53-year period, Kauai County's real total industry earnings rose from $465M in 1969 to $2,119M in 2021, for a net gain of $1,654M, or 355.34%. In comparison, Hawaii's real total industry earnings advanced from $15,225M in 1969 to $50,096M in 2021, for a net advance of $34,871M, or 229.04%.

Figure 3 portrays Kauai County's real total industry earnings growth in a broader context by offering direct comparisons across time with Hawaii, the United States. The growth indices shown here express each region's real total industry earnings in 1969 as a base figure of 100, and the real total industry earningss in later years as a percentage of the 1969 base figure. This method allows for more direct comparison of differences in real total industry earnings growth between regions that may differ vastly in size.

Kauai County's overall real total industry earnings growth was 355.34% over 1969-2021 outpaced Hawaii's increase of 229.04%, and topped the United States' increase of 277.56%.

Another interesting and insightful way of contrasting the total industry earnings growth of Kauai County is to trace its individual percentage contributions to Hawaii's statewide total industry earnings over time, as shown in Figure 4. A rising share means a region's total industry earnings grew faster, or declined less, than Hawaii's total industry earnings, while a declining share shows it grew more slowly.

In 1969, Kauai County's total industry earnings comprised 3.06% of Hawaii's total industry earnings, while in 2021 it comprised 4.23% thereby yielding a +1.17% share-shift.

Figure 5 displays the short-run pattern of Kauai County's real total industry earnings growth by tracking the year-to-year percent change over 1970-2021. The average annual percent change for the entire 52-year period is also illustrated on this chart to provide a benchmark for gauging periods of relative high--and relative low--growth against the backdrop of the long-term average.

On average, Kauai County's real total industry earnings grew at an annual rate of 3.16% over 1970-2021. The county posted its highest growth in 1974 (27.73%) and posted its lowest growth in 1975 (-15.11%). In 2021, Kauai County's real total industry earnings grew by 4.65%

Over the past five decades some counties have experienced extreme swings in growth, and often such swings have tended to coincide with the decades themselves. Figure 6 again traces the annual percent change in Kauai County's real total industry earnings since 1970, but this time they are displayed with average growth rates for the decade of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020-2021.

During the 1970s, Kauai County's annual real total industry earnings growth rate averaged 4.10%. It averaged 5.59% in the 1980s, 1.42% during the 1990s, 2.79% throughout the 2000s, 3.25% during the 2010s, -3.66% thus far this decade (2020-2021).

Figure 7 compares the decade average growth rates for Kauai County noted in the previous graph with the corresponding decade averages for Hawaii and the nation. As the chart reveals, Kauai County's average annual real total industry earnings growth registered above Hawaii's average throughout the 1970s (4.10% vs. 3.48%), registered above Hawaii's average during the 1980s (5.59% vs. 3.30%), topped Hawaii's average in the 1990s (1.42% vs. 1.15%), surpassed Hawaii's average throughout the 2000s (2.79% vs. 2.66%), recorded above Hawaii's average in the 2010s (3.25% vs. 2.01%), and amounted to less than Hawaii's average over the 2 year period of the current decade, 2020-2021 (-3.66% vs. -1.81%).

Finally, relative to nationwide real total industry earnings growth trends, Kauai County exceeded the nation throughout the 1970s (4.10% vs. 3.13%), led the nation during the 1980s (5.59% vs. 2.62%), lagged the nation during the 1990s (1.42% vs. 3.43%), led the nation in the 2000s (2.79% vs. 1.47%), recorded above the nation during the 2010s (3.25% vs. 2.53%), and lagged the nation over 2020-2021 (-3.66% vs. 2.08%).